Big plays break Burros in loss at Apple Valley

APPLE VALLEY — Five big plays handed Burroughs its third loss of the season. Burroughs lost to Apple Valley 34-21 on Friday night at Newton T. Bass Stadium, mainly because the Sun Devils came up with too many big plays for the Burros to overcome.

APPLE VALLEY — Five big plays handed Burroughs its third loss of the season.

Burroughs lost to Apple Valley 34-21 on Friday night at Newton T. Bass Stadium, mainly because the Sun Devils came up with too many big plays for the Burros to overcome.

"We fought well and we matched their physicalness — that big-play burden just killed us," Burros head coach Todd Mather said. "It's part of the game — we had to stop it and we didn't."

The first big play came in the opening minute of the game. Burroughs (1-3) received to start the game, and disaster struck on its second play from scrimmage when quarterback Ryan Sanford pitched the ball over the head of running back Trevor Baker on a sweep play.

Apple Valley linebacker Jacob Munoz scooped up the loose ball and ran 31 yards for the game's first score. The Sun Devils' extra point was blocked, and Burroughs trailed 6-0 less than a minute into the game.

"It was a bad start — it's a play we work on all the time," Mather said. "That tested our kids and we came right back."

After allowing Apple Valley (4-1) to take an early lead, Burroughs answered later on in the first quarter. The Burros drove 82 yards on their third possession of the game, and scored on a 29-yard pass from Sanford to receiver Kyle Cornell down the sideline. The extra point gave Burroughs a slim 7-6 lead with 1:43 remaining in the opening frame.

The second big play of the game came in the second quarter, and put Apple Valley back in front. On the second play of the Sun Devils' drive, quarterback Justin Connors threw an 85-yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon Mapstead. Apple Valley's two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, and Burroughs trailed 12-7 with 7:59 left in the second quarter.

After surrendering a second big play, Burroughs again answered with a touchdown of its own. The Burros drove 80 yards in 12 plays, a drive kept alive by a Sanford sneak on fourth-and-inches from the Apple Valley 27-yard line.

Baker capped the five-and-a-half minute drive with a 3-yard touchdown run that put Burroughs ahead 14-12 with 2:32 left in the half. The Burros took that two-point advantage into the break.

"The halftime score was what I expected the whole game to go like," Mather said. "I didn't realize we'd give up so many big plays in the second half — that's what hurt us."

The third big play of the game again came from Connors, this time on the ground. On the third play of the second half, the Apple Valley quarterback sprinted out to the left side, hit the corner and took off down the sideline for an 82-yard touchdown run. The Sun Devils converted the two-point conversion to grab a 20-14 lead with 10:49 remaining in the third quarter.

Page 2 of 3 - Burroughs took its next possession deep into Apple Valley territory but came up empty. On fourth-and-goal from the 6-yard line Sanford threw a swing pass to Baker, and the running back was tackled for a 6-yard loss that gave the ball to the Sun Devils on downs.

"We missed some blocks — we were hoping to outrun their linebacker to the corner, get two good blocks by our wideouts and let Baker use his speed," Mather said. "That's on me. We have a play ready for that and I keep it in my back pocket — it's still in there for later in the season."

The fourth big play of the game came on Burroughs' next offensive possession. The Burros got the ball back after stopping an Apple Valley fake punt, but a tipped pass interception by defensive back Justin Wagner on the last play of the third quarter ended the drive — and led to the Sun Devils taking control of the game.

The Burroughs sideline strongly disputed what it thought was a missed pass interference call on the interception, and was hit with a sideline warning and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play was over. Following the penalties and turnover, the Sun Devils had the ball at the Burros' 19-yard line.

"You can't change what they call, and it was a horrible pass interference no-call — he annihilated our kid. We just don't have good luck with that and it just drives me nuts," Mather said. "We were moving the ball again and that was a big play."

Five plays after the turnover, Connors completed a 1-yard pass to Mapstead to put Apple Valley ahead 27-14 with 9:42 remaining. In a back-and-forth contest, that touchdown marked the first time either team had a two-score lead.

With time running short, Burroughs responded with a touchdown on the next drive. The Burros scored on a 4-yard run by Adan Peña with 6:17 left in the game to make the score 27-21.

The fifth big play of the game came on the first play of the next drive — and was the knockout blow for Burroughs. Apple Valley running back Tevin James ran untouched through the middle of the Burros' defense for a 64-yard touchdown run.

"We challenged the defense and that was a shocking play," Mather said. "I don't know if we guessed wrong, but he just popped it quick."

Apple Valley's final big play of the game was the dagger. It put the Sun Devils ahead 34-21 and was too much for Burroughs to overcome. The Burros failed to convert a fourth down on the next drive, and the Sun Devils ran out the clock for the victory.

"Our philosophy is to try and grind it out and let teams make mistakes and not put drives together," Mather said. "We didn't do that tonight — we have to take a look at the film and see where we missed."

Page 3 of 3 - Burroughs' third loss of the season didn't come without its positives. The Burros had more than 400 yards of offense, including a season-high 258 yards rushing.

"I was very, very happy with the offense tonight," Mather said. "I thought we moved the ball very well. We were patient, and the extra work in practice paid off."

Baker led Burroughs with 98 yards on 22 carries, and Jones had 54 yards rushing and 59 yards receiving. Peña finished with 58 yards on 12 carries, as the Burros found success running the ball against Apple Valley despite giving up size to the Sun Devils on the line.

"The run game was where it needed to be," Mather said. "This was a test because up front they were huge and their backers put a lot of pressure on us — the kids fought and they passed the test."

Sanford had a solid game in the air and on the ground in defeat. The senior was 11-of-25 for 144 yards passing with a touchdown and interception, and ran for 28 yards on eight carries.

"Ryan was incredible tonight with his feet — when a play was broken, he made things happen," Mather said. "He's a playmaker, and when they have good coverage he runs. He had some huge first downs."

Burroughs begins Desert Sky League play on Friday night at Adelanto, and enters league play with a 1-3 record. The Burros will look to defend their league championship after a tough non-league slate.

"Our goal in the preseason is to improve every week, and I think we've seen our team continue to improve in the past two weeks," Mather said. "This was a much better opponent than last week and we did some very positive things. We're going to be fine if we continue to progress like this."